EFF leader Julius Malema and party MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s common assault trial resumed on Tuesday morning in the Randburg magistrate's court where they are charged for the alleged assault of a police officer during the burial of Struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 2018.
The state took their second witness to the stand in a bid to corroborate incriminating evidence against the two leaders through CCTV footage.
In October last year, Johannes Venter – who is attached to the Presidential Unit and was in charge of access control on the day – took the stand as the first witness and was grilled by the defence counsel for Malema and Ndlozi on the credibility of his claim that he was assaulted by the two when he blocked their entrance into the Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery.
Venter, who was charged with access control at the cemetery, testified in court that he denied entrance for the two as their vehicle had no permit like other VIP vehicles that were allowed inside the cemetery.
He accused Ndlozi and Malema of having been infuriated when he advised them to park the car outside the cemetery and walk inside, and that they pushed him around so hard that he lost balance.
Advocate Lawrence Hodes SC, for Malema and Ndlozi, however moved to poke holes into Venter’s evidence, pointing out that the CCTV footage of the scuffle – also presented in court – was showing Venter to be the aggressor as he was the only one who blocked the two and that other officers were calming him down.
In the footage, Malema and Ndlozi can be seen charging towards Venter and pushing him as other officers try to break off the scuffle.
Hodes also pointed out that the vehicle in which Malema and Ndlozi were driving actually had an accreditation on the dashboard, which Venter said he did not see displayed or presented to him.
The cemetery’s former operational manager, Deon Klingbell, took the stand and testified on the authenticity of the footage versions presented in court.
Klingbell told the court that there were two cameras at the cemetery on the day of the funeral, with one outside the entrance and another facing inside to monitor the movement of people and vehicles.
He said he had only learnt about the incident when he was asked for the CCTV footage, which he said he cut in different lengths as there had been several requests for it.
Klingbell remains on the stand.
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